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Why, We Indians, are So Corrupt?

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I remember, when I was a student and I used to take a bus to college, sometimes even though I had money, I used to skip buying the ticket. And it used to be fun. Later I’ll tell my friends how I ripped of the bus conductor, and how smart I’m to be able to travel free.

I know, I didn’t write this post to be my little confession column. And, if you look at this incident, it ain’t that big either. But don’t miss the point, I was dishonest. I found ripping off somebody was fun and smart. Now, after all these years when I look back, I find that we all Indians, at our core are dishonest and selfish.

We like the easy way, we like FREE, we like money at other people’s expense (as long as they’re not your family and friends). We spit on the roads, we push people on the metro, we drive rash, we litter in the public parks, we write our names on the historical monuments, we over-speed our vehicles, we jump the red lights, we takeover from the wrong side, we return late from the lunch break, we abuse power, we pollute the city on Diwali… we become politicians and the moment we get the power, we make the quick million on taxpayer’s expense like there’s no tomorrow. We completely disregard other people.

‘Dishonest, Selfish People’ sounds harsh right? But this collective introspection is important, especially now, when for the first time we know that India can shine (for real, unlike Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s election campaign). Being pitched against China in the near future is not a small thing!

What makes us so ugly? All of us have done something or more from the actions mentioned above. India Mein Sab Chalta Hai (in India, it’s not a big deal) is our motto. It’s not a big deal, because we as a society do not respect ourselves. We as a society don’t have much self esteem. And that makes us petty as individuals.

The politicians that we hate so much, are a part of us. They’re ugly, because as a society we’re ugly and opportunists.